Today marks the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Vilna / Vilnius. Between July 5 and 13, 1944, the Red army took the city with support of Soviet partisans and the Polish Armia Krajowa.

On July 8, Fania Brancovskaya and her unit marched into the city. She recalls the return to her hometown with mixed feelings. Her joy at the end of German occupation was overshadowed by feelings of solitude. Of 70 000 Vilna Jews only a few hundred had remained. They had escaped execution in the last days of occupation or had survived in hiding. In the sequence above, Fania recalls her feeling of forlornness. The sight of elderly Jews was so rare that she hugged each and everyone she met. Please activate the closed captions (CC).

Allow us to use the occasion for a remark on our own behalf: Our film project has entered the final period of post-production which will finish on February 28, 2015.

A number of foundations and individual donors covered the film's production. The Claims Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany is funding its post-production on a pro rata basis. We are incredibly grateful for this support, however, we still need to raise 5, 000 € to cover all costs. That is why we will soon initiate a crowdfunding campaign to close this gap. Please watch out for further announcements.